Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/84810
Editor's Note: Show Staff Vice President/Executive Director Alan K. Sims Exhibitor & Events Coordinator Cindy Rice-Waldrop Operations Manager Dave Schave Stephen Abernathy Director – PPTE Director of Trade Shows & Events Denise Graves Trade Show Project Manager Bonnie Gable National Account Manager Ryan Rhoden Directory Staff Vice President/Executive Director Alan K. Sims Stephen Abernathy Editor Publisher/Director Cindy Rice-Waldrop Art Director Content Manager Bruce W. Smith Production Manager Bonnie Gable Peter D. DuPre G Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Mike Reilly Chief Operating Officer/Vice President David Wright Brent Reilly President Senior Vice President , Construction Dan Tidwell Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer Shane Elmore Vice President, Editorial Linda Longton Randall-Reilly Publishing Co., LLC., 3200 Rice Mine Road, NE, Tuscaloosa, AL 35406. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibitied. Copyright © 2012 Randall-Reilly Publishing Co., LLC. ProPickup is a registered trademark of Cover: Illustration by Billy Fish; photos by Bruce Smith 4 ProPickup Truck Expo 2012 - Show Directory Born Into Pickups back of our eight acres to the woodshed where I'd unload and stack cords of Douglas Fir and alder. I was 12 and had to stretch hard to reach the pedals. A couple years later dad would toss me the keys so I could drive that rough- and recreation. My first time behind the wheel was driving my dad's '60 Chevy C30 from the wear and how important it was to have coin in my pocket for gas and vehicle maintenance. Dad's old C30 was originally a Forest Service truck dedicated to park-related rowing up in a family where logging, sawmill work, hunting and fishing were synonymous with my Oregon roots and country upbringing, pickups have always been a driving staple for work riding 1-ton with the 160hp 283 V8 to high school and pick him up at the mill on my way home. Those were blue-ribbon days for a 16-year-old kid. That's also when I started learning about axle ratios, double-clutching, tire work duties. The 5.13 rear axle and "granny" four-speed made for some incred- ible towing power. But with such low gearing the engine would float the valves at 60mph, so a road racer it wasn't. Where that pickup excelled was hauling a yard of 2-inch-minus gravel, a cord of and service manager for a Case dealership to pursue a career in automotive jour- nalism, pickups still play a big part in my life. I've owned Toyotas, Dodges, Fords, and now drive a 2011 GMC Sierra 1500. I'm wet firewood or a 10-foot slide-in camper with ease while motoring up a twisting mountain highway at 50 in 4th. It was one heck of a work truck. Years later after college, serving Uncle Sam, and switching from being a parts not necessarily brand-loyal like my nephews and many of my co-workers here at Randall-Reilly. Price, looks, performance and ride quality play a bigger purchase decision for sion for pickups in contractors. You guys accessorize and upgrade your vehicles out of necessity to better suit the job and trade. I'm sure there's a certain level of pride in ownership involved with those changes as well. We hope you enjoy our ProPickup Truck Expo and that it provides you with me than the brand badge. As the pickup manufacturer's model changes come and go, so do my likes and dislikes. What remains constant is my love of pickups in general. I see that same pas- more ideas about products and upgrades to make your own pickups more efficient in the work they do. Bruce W. Smith Editor, ProPickup